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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26831197">Fear of Fears</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/rockymountainvixen/pseuds/rockymountainvixen'>rockymountainvixen</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Solar Flares [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Blood, Dark, Douxie and Zoe cameo, Halloween, Heavy Violence, Horror, Other, Sunshine AU, brief mention of offscreen gore</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:34:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,645</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26831197</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/rockymountainvixen/pseuds/rockymountainvixen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Halloween rolls around, the same way it does every year. And like every year Jim wonders, wonders if he can convince others that his horned form is just a costume, and walk freely for one night a year.</p><p>Year after year Halloween comes and year after year Jim wonders, but this year he decides to do more than wonder.</p><p>This year he takes a chance.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Solar Flares [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1957126</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>89</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Fear of Fears</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A lot of people have commented wondering what would happen if Jim went out on Halloween, passing off his troll form as a costume. This doesn't happen in the timeline of the main story, but if it did it might happen something like this.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Earth to Jim?”</p><p> </p><p>He choked on his BLT and looked up “Wuh?”</p><p> </p><p>Toby smirked while Mary and Claire snickered, Darci just rolled her eyes “I <em> said </em> what do you want to do at Fear of Fears on Saturday?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” he swallowed “I like the thing where you can shoot at zombies from a hayride,”</p><p> </p><p>If he was honest there wasn't a single part of Fear of Fears that didn't sound, as Toby would put it, spooktacular. But Jim was already planning on developing a bad case of food poisoning at the last minute.</p><p> </p><p>Jim forced down the familiar feeling of guilt stirring up in his stomach and took another bite of his sandwich. He hated getting everyone's hopes up like this, he really did, especially since they’d been planning on spending their Halloween at Fear of Fears for over a month now, but he'd turned them down for other things too many times already. Jim had to shake up his game plan or they might get suspicious.</p><p> </p><p>“I heard that there’s part of it where you have to sign a <em> waiver </em> to get in,” Toby said reverently.</p><p> </p><p>“I looked into that, apparently the actors and stuff get to touch you, but you have to be at least eighteen,” Mary tried to sound bored, but Jim, and probably everyone else, could tell she was secretly relieved.</p><p> </p><p>“Bummer,” Darci said with a sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Claire piped up “I’ve been dying for a real scare,”</p><p> </p><p>“You dweebs want a real scare?”</p><p> </p><p>Jim gagged on his bite of BLT.</p><p> </p><p>Oh, oh no.</p><p> </p><p>He cursed himself for not noticing Anne coming into the cafeteria. She was six feet tall, built like a scarecrow, and had hair the color of orange peels, it wasn’t like she was hard to miss.</p><p> </p><p>He turned, insides knotting with dread, as Anne swaggered up to their table; Craig, Travis, Daniel, and Evan hanging on her heels and snickering. Looks like all the super-seniors had showed up for this “You twerps wouldn’t last a second before you started pissing yourselves,”</p><p> </p><p>Claire opened her mouth and Jim could tell just how massive an effort it was for her to keep her voice neutral “I guess we’ll see,”</p><p> </p><p>Anne let out a harsh bray of laughter “Maybe I’ll swing by, show you guys a <em> real scare </em>,”</p><p> </p><p>Jim forced himself not to react. If the threat had come from Steve he wouldn’t think twice about blowing it off, but Anne...Anne was different.</p><p> </p><p>She gave them all a cheshire grin “See you there,” with that Anne pivoted and started walking away, giving Toby a sharp elbow to the ribs as she went.</p><p> </p><p>Jim watched her leave before looking back towards Toby “You ok there Tobes?”</p><p> </p><p>“oh...oh yeah,” </p><p> </p><p>His pale face and strained expression told a very different story.</p><p> </p><p>Jim frowned and tugged up the side of Toby’s shirt “Well it doesn’t look like you--” </p><p> </p><p>Toby pulled away and yanked his shirt back down, but not before they all saw the layers of yellow, green, and purple bruises.</p><p> </p><p>“That looks bad,” Claire said with a wince.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah TP, maybe you should...” Darci looked from side to side and lowered her voice into a whisper “...talk to someone about Anne,”</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t...she knows what our cats look like,”</p><p> </p><p>Everyone at the table flinched.</p><p> </p><p>Last year, Katie, a girl a year below Anne had decided enough was enough and had gone to the principal about Anne constantly tripping her and stealing her lunch. Anne had gotten called out hard and ended up getting suspended for two weeks and detention for a month. </p><p> </p><p>To say she was mad was an understatement. Anne had practically been spitting fire as the security guard escorted her off school grounds. Ranting and screaming about how she was going to make Katie sorry. </p><p> </p><p>Katie took the threat seriously, making sure to always have at least a friend or two with her at all times, both during and after school, never going beyond shouting distance of a teacher, and she made sure to get rides to and from school from her parents. Even after a week of Anne being back in school with no incident, Katie hadn’t dropped her guard once, always waiting for Anne to strike back when she least expected it.</p><p> </p><p>And she had, but the retaliation was worse than Katie or anyone else could have ever imagined.</p><p> </p><p>One night, after spending the day in LA with her family, Katie came home and found her dog’s eviscerated body on the front porch.</p><p> </p><p>The next Monday she’d furiously confronted Anne; screaming and crying and demanding to know the truth.</p><p> </p><p>Throughout Katie’s whole tirade Anne didn’t say anything, not even when she got so hysterical Coach Lawrence had to drag her to the nurses office. </p><p> </p><p>Just stared at her with a smile on her face.</p><p> </p><p>Katie’s family ended up moving away, last Jim heard they were up in Oregon somewhere.</p><p> </p><p>“So…” Claire spoke up slowly “Are we still going to….?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hell yeah we are,” Mary cut in.</p><p> </p><p>Darci still looked noticeably doubtful “But Mare what if she--”</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck Anne,”</p><p> </p><p>Jim dropped his sandwich, desperately glancing around to see if Anne had heard.</p><p> </p><p>“She doesn’t decide what we do and don’t do,” Mary continued “Besides, Fear of Fears is crowded and public, Anne couldn’t try anything if she wanted to,”</p><p> </p><p>The rest of the table slowly came around to Mary’s reasoning and started discussing their plans again, but Jim wasn’t quite convinced.</p><p> </p><p>There was a chance Anne wasn’t planning on trying anything at Fear of Fears and just wanted to mess with their heads, but she was smart in the worst possible ways. Smart enough to hit people where no one could see the bruises and then ‘accidentally’ bump their injuries in full view of others.</p><p> </p><p>Smart enough to wait weeks for the perfect opportunity to get revenge on someone for daring to stand up to her.</p><p> </p><p>And the way Anne had smiled at them as she said ‘See you there’...alarm bells were going off in his head about this whole thing.</p><p> </p><p>Jim watched the rest of them discuss their plans in a detached manner. It seemed like everyone had made up their minds about going, and he didn’t think he could convince them to skip.</p><p> </p><p>Especially not since they thought he was going to.</p><p> </p><p>A bitter thought bubbled to the front of his mind. Even if they all stayed home, if Anne was determined to hurt them, sooner or later she would find a way.</p><p> </p><p>Man sometimes he wished some seven foot tall meathead would come in and teach Anne a…</p><p> </p><p>No. </p><p> </p><p>No no no.</p><p> </p><p>No. </p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t, wouldn’t. It was stupiud and risky and everything he wasn’t.</p><p> </p><p>But then again on Halloween everyone would think the blue skin, fangs, and horns were just a costume. The only reason Jim had never tried going out on Halloween before was because no costume could explain an eighteen inch difference in height. </p><p> </p><p>Of course if he wasn’t trying to pass himself off as Jim Lake Jr…</p><p> </p><p>“You ok Jim?” Claire asked, all heads at the table swiveling to look at him “You’ve been pretty quiet,”</p><p> </p><p>Jim started “Oh yeah...I guess I’m just excited, it all sounds fun,”</p><p> </p><p>It looked like they accepted this anwer and the conversation moved on without him, leaving Jim to his thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>Despite his best efforts to squash the idea it was starting to gain serious traction.</p><p> </p><p>Sneak in to Fear of Fears, blend in with the crowd, keep an eye on his friends from a distance, and if Anne tried anything, kick her ass.</p><p> </p><p>The idea had some definite appeal, he could make sure his friends stayed safe no matter what happened. Hopefully Anne wouldn’t try anything at all, but if she did...Jim certainly wouldn’t mind dishing out some much needed payback.</p><p> </p><p>A flash of guilt followed right after his fantasies of inflicting karma. </p><p> </p><p>If his mom found out about him doing any of this she would be so hurt.</p><p> </p><p>He needed to forget this whole hairbrained scheme. Bottom line it was <em> way </em> too risky. Him and his mom had kept his secret for over ten years now. Jim couldn’t risk blowing that all out of the water just to...</p><p> </p><p>The sight of bruises on Toby’s stomach flashed in his mind and every drop of hesitation vanished.</p><p> </p><p>It was by far the worst idea he’d ever come up with in his entire life. But his friends were worth it. Jim could put himself at risk for one night if it meant keeping them safe.</p><p> </p><p>And besides, while his brain was still unhelpfully supplying him with every possible way this could go horribly wrong, deep down Jim knew his mind was already made up.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>The sun had set three hours ago, two hours ago Jim had texted his friends the bad news about his ‘food poisoning’, and twenty minutes he had texted his mom a selfie of him posing with a jack o lantern he carved. Giving Jim just that much time to get dressed and ready.</p><p> </p><p>And now here he was, standing just outside his backyard fence, ready to head into the woods beyond towards Fear of Fears. One hand pulling the hood of his jacket tighter over his head, the other clutching the wooden fence, unwilling to let go.</p><p> </p><p>This was crazy, this whole thing was insane. If Jim had half a brain he’d run back inside right now and forget this whole thing.</p><p> </p><p>Right now he might be safe, but with every step he took away from here the danger would increase.</p><p> </p><p>Danger of being spotted. Danger of someone seeing Jim for exactly what he was.</p><p> </p><p>Danger of someone taking him away from his mom forever.</p><p> </p><p>Jim dug his heels into the ground, forcing himself to stay where he was. He’d made a promise to himself, and he couldn’t back down now.</p><p> </p><p>His friends needed him.</p><p> </p><p>Jim pulled in a deep breath through his nose. In for five, hold for five, out for five. Repeat.</p><p> </p><p>And then he let go of the fence and walked into the trees, forcing himself not to look back, even when he knew he’d left his house far behind.</p><p> </p><p>Going by road was too risky, but a quick Maps investigation online showed him that he could easily cut northeast through the woods and get there without ever setting foot on asphalt or concrete. </p><p> </p><p>So Jim had a better chance of being struck by lightning than accidentally being spotted going by this route.</p><p> </p><p>But that didn’t stop him from being so wired he jumped at every little sound he heard.</p><p> </p><p>He thought his nerves would get better the further away he got from his house, but every step he took brought him closer to a heart attack.</p><p> </p><p>Jim forced his gaze down and tried to shove the anxious thoughts out of his head. He wasn’t in the woods just outside of town in a ludicrously high risk situation. He was camping, he and his mom were just out camping in the woods hundreds of miles away from everyone else.</p><p> </p><p>No one was going to see Jim and recognize him for what he was.</p><p> </p><p>It worked for the most part. He was able to keep putting one foot in front of the other at least.</p><p> </p><p>But the effectiveness of his mental gymnastics dwindled as he got close to Fear of Fears.</p><p> </p><p>Jim heard it well before he saw it. A low ripple of countless voices, punctuated by high pitched laughes and shrieks. The dull grinding of gears and sharp clangs of metal on metal. The tinny sound of a looped tape of screams and cackles. Even a recording of ‘The Monster Mash’ playing. All getting steadily louder with each step he took.</p><p> </p><p>By the time he saw the tents and wooden buildings through the trees, dozens if not hundreds of people milling around them, the sounds were almost deafening. Jim’s heart was practically in his throat. It was all he could do to not shrink away.</p><p> </p><p>Oh god this was horrible.</p><p> </p><p>Jim turned and pressed his back into a tree, yanking his hood down even harder, almost enough to tear it on his horns. He felt so vulnerable, so exposed.</p><p> </p><p>There were people. So many people. What if someone saw him and realized he wasn’t wearing a costume?</p><p> </p><p>Worse what if someone saw him and <em> recognized </em>him?</p><p> </p><p>What was he thinking just coming here in a hoodie and jeans with nothing to disguise himself? Granted his features were quite a bit different when he was like this, but if you knew what to look for there were distinct similarities.</p><p> </p><p>This new fear surged past the others, eclipsing his anxiety towards the sounds and the crowds by a massive margin.</p><p> </p><p>Peeling away from the bark of his tree, Jim slunk through the woods along the perimeter of the farm, creeping closer when he spotted what he was looking for. A small wooden table underneath a white canvas tent, maskes practically spilling over the table’s edge and hanging from every possible surface of the tent. Yellow stickers advertising prices occasionally peeking out from between them. Waiting until the man behind the table was looking the other way; Jim snuck up to the table, grabbed the closest mask, and darted back to the safety of the trees. </p><p> </p><p>Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Jim examined his prize. He hadn’t even looked at what mask he’d grabbed, just gone for the one that was the closest. It looked like one of those masks from that movie that took place in dystopian England where a lady got her head shaved. But instead of being white with black accents, this one was completely black with an iridescent sheen.</p><p> </p><p>It was pretty weird, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.</p><p> </p><p>Pulling back his hood, Jim quickly slipped the mask into place, cutting off his vision from either side, before replacing his hood. It wouldn’t disguise his hands or feet, and the shape of his horns was visible from under his hood. But Jim felt better now with something to cover his face. </p><p> </p><p>Of course now that that worry was taken care of, the dread of going into a crowded amusement park came back in full force.</p><p> </p><p>Tightening the straps of the mask, he leaned back against a tree and ran through his breathing cycles.</p><p> </p><p>He was already here, he hadn’t come this far just to back out now. He could do this.</p><p> </p><p>Jim was going to be here for his friends, whether they knew it or not.</p><p> </p><p>Holding those thoughts in the front of his mind, Jim stepped around the tree and slowly walked towards the buildings and tents, gradually making his way into the crowd.</p><p> </p><p>As the number of people around him increased his heartbeat accelerated. And with the booths and wooden buildings closing in on all sides it was hard not to feel claustrophobic. And if he’d thought the sounds were bad in the forest...everything was louder, sharper; surrounding him on all sides in an ocean of noise. The lights were even worse, strobing and flashing white and red, orange and green, piercing his eyes through the black mesh of his mask.</p><p> </p><p>But the worst part was the smells. Greasy cooking oil and stinging pine smoke. Grease and metal from tractors and rides. Butter and salt and cloying caramel. Each one by themselves strong enough to make his eyes water. And underneath them all was the constant current of the warm, salty smell of people.</p><p> </p><p>All pilling on at once in a non-stop attack on his senses.</p><p> </p><p>Too much, it was all too much.</p><p> </p><p>His breath hitched.</p><p> </p><p>People must be noticing by now, noticing that something was off, wrong about him. That he was holding himself strangely. That he reacted weirdly to what should have been regular things. That he wasn’t acting the way a normal person should.</p><p> </p><p>And it was only a matter of time before someone realized his costume wasn’t a costume.</p><p> </p><p>Jim was forced to stop at the corner of a barn, reaching a hand out to steady himself against the dry, splintering wood. His composure steadily cracking.</p><p> </p><p>He needed to run, get back to the peace and quiet of the woods, away from all this noise and chaos, where no one could find him. But if Jim moved so much as an inch he was going to puke. </p><p> </p><p>Out of nowhere he felt a hand on his shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>“You ok mate?”</p><p> </p><p>The tension that had been coiling in his spine all night sprung into action. Snapping him up to his full height and whirling around to look at the source of the hand.</p><p> </p><p>A guy with black, blue streaked hair took a reflexive step back, clearly startled. Beside him stood a girl with short pink hair that looked a lot more suspicious than startled.</p><p> </p><p>“Doux I think this dude is drunk,”</p><p> </p><p>‘Doux’ appeared to weigh her words before deciding to take a step forward again “Is everything going alright, do you need help finding someone, or do you want a ride somewhere?”</p><p> </p><p>For a moment all Jim could do was stare in stunned silence. Then it clicked in his brain.</p><p> </p><p>These guys just thought he was some random, possibly drunk, Fear of Fears goer.</p><p> </p><p>His disguise was working perfectly.</p><p> </p><p>Relief poured over him. Jim was blending in. No one was suspecting anything. He wasn’t going to get caught or arrested or shot. He could pull this off after all.</p><p> </p><p>But pink hair was starting to look more and more on edge, better say something.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, uh, yeah...I‘m fine,” years of using the walkie talkies had helped him develop his more gravely night time voice into something that passed for normal, though still muffled by the mask “Just needed to...take a breather,”</p><p> </p><p>Doux and pink hair looked doubtful but at least Jim didn’t think he’d come across as drunk.</p><p> </p><p>“Ok then,” Doux said as he and pink hair turned to leave “But if you need any help come find us,”</p><p> </p><p>Jim nodded once before turning and walking in the other direction.</p><p> </p><p>He’d wasted enough time already getting his head in the game. Now he needed to find his friends.</p><p> </p><p>Jim wandered through the entire farm property. Going from the food stands to the bonfire, games and souvenir booths. He staked out the various haunted houses to see if he could spot any of them entering or exiting. The only place he didn’t check was the corn maze. But if he tried searching that it would take all night. </p><p> </p><p>Even after almost an hour of searching he didn’t catch so much as a glimpse of Claire, Mary, Darci, or Toby.</p><p> </p><p>He tried to ignore the prickling feeling that something was horribly wrong.</p><p> </p><p>They were all probably going through a haunted house, or waiting in line for a candy apple or something. Nothing to psyche himself out about.</p><p> </p><p>But then shouldn’t he have spotted something by now?</p><p> </p><p>Maybe it was time to start searching the corn maze. Letting out a gusty sigh, Jim turned and started making his way over to the field. </p><p> </p><p>He’d only gone a few steps when it hit him. A new scent cutting through all the others like a lighthouse through fog.</p><p> </p><p>Blood.</p><p> </p><p>Not the sticky corn syrup stuff painted on walls and smeared on faces.</p><p> </p><p><em> Real </em> blood.</p><p> </p><p>Lightning shot up his spine.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> This was bad something was wrong he needed to find his friends now! </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Jim pivoted on his heel and made a beeline for the scent, glancing around for any trace of his friends.</p><p> </p><p>And then, above all the noise and laughter of the fair, he heard it.</p><p> </p><p>Darci’s strangled sob.</p><p> </p><p>He ran, caution forgotten in the place of urgency; pushing through crowds and shoving past people, heedless of their protests.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Something bad something wrong friends needed him find them now! </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The blood scent and sobs lead him to a narrow alley, one he probably wouldn’t have noticed if he wasn’t looking for it. Glancing around, it looked like the alley led to a space behind the main barn, enclosed by two temporary plywood haunted houses. He moved more carefully now, the alley wasn’t so narrow people would have problems getting through, but they would definitely need to go single file.</p><p> </p><p>Jim came to the mouth of the alley, and peeked down it. The alley was shorter than he’d expected, and the space it led to was larger, wider, a bay rather than an alley, littered with spare pipes and stacks of two by fours. But that sight wasn’t what made his blood boil and freeze at the same time.</p><p> </p><p>Darci huddled against the wooden wall of the barn, bawling. Her black and white wedding dress speckled in red. Claire stood in front of her protectively, desperately trying to keep Travis and Craig at bay while they jeered and taunted them, yanking on Claire’s cape. Mary was squirming on the ground, mud smearing on her mermaid dress as Daniel and Evan yanked her around by the hair. And Toby…</p><p> </p><p>Toby wasn’t moving. His hockey mask and plastic machete lying discarded in the dirt beside him.</p><p> </p><p>Then Jim saw Anne. Standing over Toby’s slumped body. Laughing.</p><p> </p><p>Toby was hurt and she was <em> laughing </em>.</p><p> </p><p>Still sniggering, her smile practically a sneer, Anne leaned over and grabbed Toby by the hair, lifting his limp form up before dropping him face first onto a cement block.</p><p> </p><p>Horror and furry roared inside him, the dull smack of flesh on concrete echoing in Jim’s ears. </p><p> </p><p>That was when he became aware of a husky growl rumbling out from deep within his belly.</p><p> </p><p>The sound was too far low-pitched for anyone down the alley to have heard it clearly, but Anne must have heard something because she turned and spotted Jim, making eye contact without hesitation “The fuck are you looking at?”</p><p> </p><p>Jim didn’t move, almost paralyzed with fury.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> I said what the fuck are you looking at?! </em>”</p><p> </p><p>His hands tightened into fists. Nails stabbing into his palms.</p><p> </p><p>Her lips stretched into a nasty grin, she shook Toby by the back of his shirt “Wanna do something about this?”</p><p> </p><p>A rage, so complete and total that it was almost like calmness, washed over him. Jim raised a foot, anger thrumming just below his skin, and stomped over towards Anne and her group, moving slowly, but with deliberate purpose.</p><p> </p><p>They hooted and jeered as he came closer, the others forgotten for now, allowing Mary and Claire to grab Toby and drag him to where they were huddled against the wall.</p><p> </p><p>The sheer terror coming off the four of them was palatable, visible in every jerky motion and every flinch. Jim almost imagined he could actually smell it on them, a bitter and metallic musk underneath the coppery tang of their open wounds.</p><p> </p><p>Seeing his friends so battered and frightened, somehow Jim’s rage got even deeper.</p><p> </p><p>He stopped a foot away from Anne, she looked unbothered by the fact that he towered over her. From behind and to the sides he heard the rest of her thugs start to surround him.</p><p> </p><p>But even though he was badly outnumbered, Jim didn’t feel afraid.</p><p> </p><p>The sounds from Fear of Fears were distant and muted, while the noises Anne and her cronies made were crystal clear. Jim could hear every crunch of sneaker on gravel, every scrape of metal on wood, every puff of breath.</p><p> </p><p>Even with the mask and the hood restricting his vision, Jim could tell exactly where each and every one of them were, and even how they were standing.</p><p> </p><p>He might not come out unscathed, but Jim just knew the rest of them would come out worse.</p><p> </p><p>Anne smirked up at him “Wanna be some kind of hero tough guy?”</p><p> </p><p>Jim didn’t bother responding, more focussed on the sounds of one of someone moving behind him.</p><p> </p><p>Without even turning his head, Jim snapped his hand out and grabbed Daniel’s forearm before the baseball bat could even get near him.</p><p> </p><p>What had he even been trying to do? His footsteps were so clumsy and his breath was so loud Jim could have avoided the blow blind and half asleep. Of course it wasn’t like the rest of them were any better.</p><p> </p><p>Why had he ever been afraid of any of these guys?</p><p> </p><p>The group faltered, doubtful whispers passing between them. This wasn’t part of the plan, this wasn’t how things went for them. They were supposed to be the ones winning. They were supposed to be the ones inflicting pain. Not receiving it.</p><p> </p><p>Daniel grunted and squirmed in Jim’s grip, losing the bat in his struggle to free himself.</p><p> </p><p>Anne’s smirk slowly morphed into a scowl “C’mon Daniel, quit playing around!” she hissed.</p><p> </p><p>Daniel tugged futility at his trapped arm “I’m-- I’m trying, it’s--” </p><p> </p><p>He was really struggling in earnest now, but he might as well have been a mouse fighting back against a wolf. </p><p> </p><p>Jim gave the arm an experimental squeeze, feeling the radius shifting against the ulna. Back when he was seven he’d been able to crack bone without even trying.</p><p> </p><p>How much easier would it be now?</p><p> </p><p>He was pulled from his thoughts by Craig punching him in the stomach, it wasn’t like it hurt, but Jim did notice.</p><p> </p><p>Jim turned his gaze towards Craig, an almost comically baffled look on his face, and slugged him right back.</p><p> </p><p>It was anticlimactic really. Craig didn’t go flying into a wall, but his eyes did just about pop out of his skull. He staggered backwards, a strangled wheeze the only sound that escaped him. Both arms curling in around his abdomen as he continued to retreat on unsteady legs. </p><p> </p><p>They all watched him in complete silence, the only sounds distant echoes from Fear of Fears, as Craig stumbled back into a wall, slowly sliding to the ground. A pained moan escaping his lips when he hit the dirt. </p><p> </p><p>The uncertainty in the air intensified, Daniel now flailing to try and free himself. Jim could practically feel the rest reevaluating Jim, trying to gauge how much of a threat he really was.</p><p> </p><p>Anne was the only one who didn’t look uneasy, frown now twisted into a furious snarl.</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck this,” she growled, and pulled a large, wicked looking knife out of her jacket. The others shoving down their momentary weakness and following suit.</p><p> </p><p>Jim’s only response was to cock his head. Looks like they were starting to take him seriously. </p><p> </p><p>About time.</p><p> </p><p>From beside him he could feel Daniel shift and pull what must have been a blade out of his own coat.</p><p> </p><p>If it weren’t for the red haze of anger still pulsing all around him Jim would have rolled his eyes. Was this guy really trying to pull a weapon on him while Jim still had control of one of his arms?</p><p> </p><p>Idiot.</p><p> </p><p>Jim squeezed <em> hard, </em> feeling twin pops under his fingers as the two bones each snapped in half. The cracking sounds echoing in the enclosed space.</p><p> </p><p>Daniel squealed in pain, staring in horror at his ruined limb, dropping to the ground with a whimper as Jim released him.</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t even spare Daniel a second glance. These guys strutted around the school like they were hot shit and this was how he reacted to a broken arm? Pathetic.</p><p> </p><p>Either way, two down, three to go.</p><p> </p><p>If Anne had been mad before now she was profoundly pissed off. She snarled and swung her blade at him, the other two following suit. </p><p> </p><p>Jim danced backwards out of reach. More trying to get a read on their movements than avoid their knives.</p><p> </p><p>Besides, these dumbasses hadn’t realized that Jim was between them and their only way out.</p><p> </p><p>From the corner of his eye he saw his friends start to pick themselves up off the ground and try to edge their way behind Jim to escape.</p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately Jim wasn’t the only one who noticed. </p><p> </p><p>Travis let out an ugly growl and threw his knife at them. Knowing Travis he couldn’t actually have been aiming at anything in particular, but the knife still sliced open the skin on the back of Claire’s arm, making the four of them scurry backwards in a chorus of shrieks.</p><p> </p><p>“Where the <em> fuck </em>do you think you’re going?” Travis bellowed.</p><p> </p><p>Jim was hit with the smell of fresh blood, bright and glaring as a neon sign. </p><p> </p><p>His vision filled with red.</p><p> </p><p>And this moron had just thrown away his weapon.</p><p> </p><p>He lunged, ducking past the other two blades and catching Travis in the stomach with his shoulder, tackling him to the ground.</p><p> </p><p>While Travis was still dazed from the blow Jim propped himself up on his knees and raised a fist.</p><p> </p><p>One.</p><p> </p><p>Jim brought it up under Travis’s chin, snapping his head back and feeling cracks form in the mandible underneath his knuckles.</p><p> </p><p>Two.</p><p> </p><p>Another punch across Travis’s face, the cartilage in his nose crunching, hot spray of blood spurting out.</p><p> </p><p>And then Travis was gone, completely limp on the ground underneath him. Off to the side he could still hear Daniel and Craig twitching and moaning.</p><p> </p><p>Jim allowed himself a small smirk of satisfaction.</p><p> </p><p>Pain exploded in the front of his forehead, radiating out through his skull and making his head spin. He swayed, arms wavering and fingers digging into dirt as he fought to keep himself upright. </p><p> </p><p>Jim blinked trying to clear his vision. While the initial blow had hurt quite a bit, the pain had already spiked and was steadily fading, the world gradually coming back into focus. The first thing that Jim registered seeing was his mask lying on the ground where it had been torn off, the second was the crowbar in Anne’s hands. </p><p> </p><p>He wasn’t hurt all that bad, no more than when he’d bang his head against a shelf or the ceiling. </p><p> </p><p>But what set his teeth on edge was the vulnerability. Jim had dropped his guard for a second and that had been all it took for Anne to get a blow in.</p><p> </p><p>What if she’d been able to take him down? What if it had been one of his friends? They could have been killed just because Jim had let himself get sloppy. Pain all but forgotten now, Jim slowly raised his head to glare at Anne and Evan, teeth bared as they gasped and staggered back.</p><p> </p><p>That’s it, no more messing around.</p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t affort any fuck ups, not with his friends on the line.</p><p> </p><p>These guys were going down <em> now </em>.</p><p> </p><p>Jim snapped his gaze towards Anne, her flinching as their eyes locked, and roared.</p><p> </p><p>Even in his anger fueled haze, part of him noted just how out of place the sound was coming out of him. It didn’t sound like something that should come out of a person. It belonged in the forest or the savannah, coming from a powerful beast like a bear or a lion. </p><p> </p><p>But there was one thing about it that suited him perfectly.</p><p> </p><p>A bear. A lion. Jim himself.</p><p> </p><p>They were all hunters.</p><p> </p><p>Evan slashed forward with his knife, motions twitchy and erratic, face twisted in terror. </p><p> </p><p>Jim ducked to avoid the blow. Then rather than straighten, sunk into a deeper crouch and leapt forward on all fours.</p><p> </p><p>He barely heard the wheeze as his horns dug into Evan’s soft abdomen. Not wasting a moment, he gave his horns a toss and threw him against the wall, landing in a crouch.</p><p> </p><p>Without missing a beat Jim snapped his gaze back towards Anne, letting out a low growl as he spotted her. Jim hadn’t forgotten her, what she’d done, not for a second.</p><p> </p><p>Anne had gone white as a sheet, both ends of the crowbar clutched protectively in each hand, ready to defend from every angle.</p><p> </p><p>Not that it was going to do her any good.</p><p> </p><p>Jim charged.</p><p> </p><p>She screamed, wildly swinging the crowbar in an effort to keep him at bay. </p><p> </p><p>Jim hopped back out of range, weight on the balls of his feet, never taking his eyes off of the crowbar or her. </p><p> </p><p>And when he saw an opening, he lunged. </p><p> </p><p>To his surprise Anne saw him coming and reacted faster than he expected, twisting and raising the crowbar to bring it down hard on him as he came in close.</p><p> </p><p>The way Jim moved as he closed in on Anne could only be called instinctive. Ducking low before sliding in close. Both of his hands coming up to stop the crowbar from moving. And then, without even thinking about it, his head shooting forward to sink his teeth into the meat of her shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>Anne howled. Not from rage. Not from fear. But from agony.</p><p> </p><p>Suddenly a blinding pain erupted from his groin, stars burned to life behind his eyes and a sudden wave of nausea had him doubling over. A wheeze was wrung out of his lungs, loosening Jim’s jaw involuntarily. Not all the way, but enough for Anne to tear herself free from his teeth in a scarlet spray.</p><p> </p><p>She lowered her knee and promptly fell to the ground. While Jim was still staggering from the ache in his crotch, Anne crawled away from him, one arm dragging limply alongside her. By the time Jim managed to shake off the pain she was pulling herself into a corrugated metal pipe. </p><p> </p><p>He snarled and pursued. Going down on his knees and shooting an arm into the pipe, feeling the bottom of one of her sneakers for a brief instant, before she crawled out of his reach. And the pipe was far too narrow for him to crawl after her.</p><p> </p><p>His target beyond reach, Jim’s fury surged tenfold.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> How dare she run how dare she hide how dare she try and escape the consequences of attacking his kin </em>
</p><p> </p><p>He roared, bringing his fist down on the rippled metal of the tube as hard as he could, a deafening clang echoing in the narrow space.</p><p> </p><p>As he pulled his hand back, Jim saw a small dent left by it. Not a big one, but something.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> She will not escape </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Focused now, Jim balled both hands together, and brought them down with all his might.</p><p> </p><p>Again and again and again.</p><p> </p><p>The metal of the pipe bellowed and boomed as Jim pounded at it, roaring as he went, filling the small alley with thunderous noise.</p><p> </p><p>He felt, more than heard, Anne squirming and struggling inside it.</p><p> </p><p>Dents and tears started to appear under his knuckles, the steel gradually giving. But not fast enough. Not <em> nearly </em>fast enough.</p><p> </p><p>Snarling, Jim leaned down and grabbed the edge of a weakened section of metal with his teeth. Tearing it off with an ear bleeding screech.</p><p> </p><p>Anne’s struggles from inside the pipe abruptly ceased.</p><p> </p><p>Whirling his head up, Jim saw that Anne had crawled out the other end of the pipe and had somehow gotten to her feet. Stumbling towards the alley’s exit, glancing behind her fearfully, face going gaunt and meager speed picking up once she spotted him.</p><p> </p><p>Jim growling lowered to a hoarse rumble and as he sank into a crouch, never taking his eyes off his prey. And when he had Anne lined up in his sights, he bounded after her on all fours. </p><p> </p><p>He caught up in two leaps and brought her down with a full body tackle. </p><p> </p><p>She thudded into the ground underneath him, he could feel her gasp as the air was forced out of her lungs, the deafening crack as her thigh bone snapped under his foot. Taking no chances, Jim’s hand went to her face, pinning her head and neck to the ground. Completely immobilizing her.</p><p> </p><p>Anne stared up at him with huge eyes, blinking up at him through the blood pouring down from a cut on her forehead.</p><p> </p><p>“n-- n-- nuh--”</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t form words, but Jim knew what she was trying to say.</p><p> </p><p>His growl became huskier, deeper and louder, angrier. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> How dare she how dare she beg for mercy when she’d denied the same to so many others how dare she ask for something that she’d denied his kin. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Jim dug his fingernails in, Anne gasping as they popped through the skin, five small fountains of blood blooming to life.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t deserve mercy she deserved to <em>pay</em>. And Jim was going to make sure that everyone who saw her knew exactly what she was.</p><p> </p><p>Slowly, he dragged his fingers down, Anne’s eyes widening even further, gasping in pain and shock as five rivers of blood opened under his fingers, gradually shifting his grip from her face to her throat.</p><p> </p><p>For the rest of her life, the instant people saw her face, they would know exactly how <em> rotten </em> she was.</p><p> </p><p>He stood and rose to his full height, holding Anne up by her throat. He brought her in close, squirming desperately, no doubt believing her life was about to end, until their faces were almost touching.</p><p> </p><p>Jim stared at her unblinking, pulling in a deep breath through his nose down into his stomach.</p><p> </p><p>And then he roared, roared as loud as his body would allow. Loud enough to feel it in his bones, rattling in the wood and glass of the small space.</p><p> </p><p>He caught a glimpse of her face, frozen into a mask of raw, naked horror, and then he threw her. Slamming bodily into the wooden wall of the barn before landing on the ground with a dull thud.</p><p> </p><p>Jim glared at where she’d fallen, almost waiting for her to make a move, nerves still taught and ready to spring towards the next threat that crossed his awareness.</p><p> </p><p>Wood tore against wood behind him.</p><p> </p><p>He pivoted on the spot, bouncing on the balls of his feet, ready to pounce on whatever new enemy appeared.</p><p> </p><p>Toby and Mary were clinging to each other, too scared to move to wipe away the dirt and blood on their faces or the tears streaming down their wide, frightened eyes. Darci was pressing herself as hard as she could against the plywood wall, breath coming in rapid gasps and pants, practically hyperventilating. Her terror more than her body could contain. Claire was frozen in place, one hand clasped to her bleeding arm, face ghost white, paralyzed with fear, not even able to flinch.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my god…” Mary stammered out “it...it’s a monster….”</p><p> </p><p>Just like that the red fog surrounding him was gone. </p><p> </p><p>Instead of the world being divided into the crystal clarity of enemies and not-enemies, it was just Jim. Standing in the dark in the dirt with bodies twitching and groaning all around him.</p><p> </p><p>They all showed some sign of life, whether moans of pain or the spasm of reflexes. But none of them looked like they could stand, let alone fight. Anne herself had it the worst; laying on the dirt in a shuddering heap of splayed limbs, one thigh bent at an unnatural angle. unable to move in a purposeful way or even make cohesive sounds, flapping her jaw uselessly, face a bloody mess.</p><p> </p><p>Beyond the groans cries of Anne and her group, the clearest sounds were his friends whimpering.</p><p> </p><p>Crying.</p><p> </p><p>Terrified.</p><p> </p><p>It was only just now that Jim registered the taste of blood in his mouth.</p><p> </p><p>It tasted like rabbit.</p><p> </p><p>All the shock and confusion was consumed by a wave of horror.</p><p> </p><p>Oh god what had he done, he just wanted to keep his friends safe, to keep Anne from hurting them. He never wanted this.</p><p> </p><p>He <em> bit </em>someone, tearing open their body with his teeth.</p><p> </p><p>His entire abdomen seized. Stomach pinching dangerously.</p><p> </p><p>How could he? How could he have gone so far? How could he have become this?</p><p> </p><p>Jim swayed and involuntarily took a step forward to steady himself. </p><p> </p><p>His friends shrieked and squirmed away, pressing themselves harder against the wall.</p><p> </p><p>Recoiling away from him.</p><p> </p><p>The monster.</p><p> </p><p>That was all it took for Jim to snap out of it. He turned and ran, sprinting past buildings and costumed party-goers so fast they were only a blur. Not even slowing down when he reached the woods. Running and running with all his might.</p><p> </p><p>But no matter how far he ran, now matter how hard he shut his eyes, Jim couldn’t get the sight of beaten, broken bodies lying on the ground.</p><p> </p><p>And the horrifying knowledge that he was the one that had done the breaking.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Barbara yawned as she pulled her car into the driveway. It was still pitch black out but had shifted into what could technically be called morning.</p><p> </p><p>Her halloween shift hadn’t been terrible this year, more or less the same as any weekend shift, but it still felt good to be done. She got out of the car and stretched as she made her way into the house. The doctor who was supposed to take over for her on the next shift was late, but her boss had let her leave anyway. The weekends were never too busy, and if things got crazy they could bring one of the on call doctors in. So she wouldn’t hear from work unless there was some kind of trauma event and they needed all hands on deck. Not that they would expect her to come in, the clinic couldn’t afford to pay that kind of overtime, that was just how the phone tree was set up.</p><p> </p><p>As she slid her key into the lock, Barbara wondered how Jim had spent his night, when she’d left he’d seemed pretty bummed about not being able to go out with his friends. Hopefully he’d been able to have some fun by himself tonight. He’d made a jack o lantern and sent her a picture, so that was something.</p><p> </p><p>Shutting the door behind her, Barbara walked into the kitchen, her casual pace slowing to a stop when she realized that breakfast wasn’t ready. And Jim was nowhere to be seen.</p><p> </p><p>Having Jim greet her with a meal at the end of every shift wasn’t something Barbara was entitled to, she reminded herself of that every time he did it. But Jim liked helping out, and he liked cooking even more. Him cooking for her after work had become such a common occurrence that the absence of it gave her pause.</p><p> </p><p>“Jim!” she called out “How was your night, are you doing ok?”</p><p> </p><p>No reply.</p><p> </p><p>She stood there in uneasy silence for a few moments, allowing her to hear the strange, soft noises coming from the basement.</p><p> </p><p>Barbara walked over to the top of the stairs and cracked open the door “Jim?”</p><p> </p><p>Flicking on the light, she saw a figure huddled at the base of the stairs, hunched over and shuddering, emitting some kind of sound she couldn’t identify. Moving cautiously, she started descending the basement steps.</p><p> </p><p>“Honey…”</p><p> </p><p>As she got closer, her brain finally registered the noises.. </p><p> </p><p>It was Jim, crouched over the bottom step, face buried in his hands, sobbing his heart out.</p><p> </p><p>All sense of hesitation gone now, Barbara took the stairs two at a time and kneeled down at Jim’s side “What’s wrong sweetie, are you ok?”</p><p> </p><p>Jim didn’t answer, giving no sign that he’d heard her or was even aware of her, curling in even tighter on himself as his gut wrenching sobs continued.</p><p> </p><p>Barbara raised a hand to rub circles into his shoulders. But as soon as she made contact Jim jerked away, leaving her hand suspended in the air while Barbara stared in shock. Seeing Jim so distraught set her worries going a mile a minute, but his body language was even more concerning.</p><p> </p><p>Ever since he was a baby Jim had always been a cuddly, affectionate child. Never once shying away from hugs or touch from friends or family. And he almost always responded best to physical comfort when he was sad or scared. But when Jim recoiled and curled in on himself like this…</p><p> </p><p>That usually meant he felt guilty.</p><p> </p><p>Babara had just resigned herself to sitting here and giving Jim space until he was calm enough to tell her what had happened, when she registered a stickiness on her hand. Barbara reflexively pulled her arm back to examine her palm. </p><p> </p><p>She came face to face with a very familiar shade of red.</p><p> </p><p>Barbara snapped her eyes back over towards Jim. She hadn’t noticed at first because of how he was hunched over, but now that she knew what to look for, she saw Jim was covered in blood.</p><p> </p><p>The trained physician in her sprung into action.</p><p> </p><p>“What happened to you Jim, where are you hurt!?”</p><p> </p><p>Jim wailed and buried his face into his knees, sobs intensifying.</p><p> </p><p>Squaring herself, Barbara put both hands on her son’s shoulders, and forced herself to look at his state of distress with clinical objectivity.</p><p> </p><p>“Jim.” she filled her voice with all the authority she could muster “I know you’re upset, but I <em> need </em>you to tell me where you’re hurt,”</p><p> </p><p>Jim started to mumble “Is no-- is no…” whatever words he’d been trying to say crumbled into more sobs.</p><p> </p><p>Barbara tightened her grip on his shoulders, already hating herself for the stern words she knew she had to say “Jim. Where. Are you. Hurt.”</p><p> </p><p>“Is not-- It’s not…” Jim raised his face to look at her, eyes red-rimmed and streaming with tears, cutting clear blue tracks through the blood smeared on his face.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not my blood…” he whispered.</p><p> </p><p>Then his face crumpled and sobs overtook him again.</p><p> </p><p>Barbara struggled to understand the vague words, still reeling in shock from walking in to see Jim covered in blood “What do you mean this isn’t your blood, how did this happen?”</p><p> </p><p>Jim didn’t look at her, voice a hoarse, barely-there, whisper “I did something bad…”</p><p> </p><p>Barbara sat on the step dumbfounded, watching her son’s breakdown in a state of stupefied shock. Brain refusing to put the pieces together.</p><p> </p><p>And then her phone started to chime. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>When a group of teenagers are attacked on Halloween and claim it was a monster, authorities are quick to chalk it up to them getting carried away from the holiday, especially considering the attack happened at the local Fear of Fears festival. But then they started noticing little things that didn't add up. One boy had injuries like he'd been gored and tossed by a bison. One girl had bite marks that only could have been made by a mouth full of canines. Damage to a corrugated steel pipe no human could have possibly inflicted. At the end of the day they still couldn't say that these teens were attacked by a monster, but they couldn't say that they weren't.</p><p>It might seem strange that the other kids were so frightened of Jim considering he just saved them. But from their point of view Jim was just some random guy that happened to be passing by, who only got into a fight with Anne and her cronies because they started antagonizing him. They were never given any reason to believe that Jim was on their side.</p><p>And no one feel bad for Anne; she was a violent, remorseless sadist. She reveled in hurting people and had already started to escalate from schoolyard violence to torturing and murdering animals. It was only a matter of time before she escalated to the point of taking a human life. And if Jim hadn't shown up when he did, that night could easily have been this one. When Jim showed up she was just about to curb stomp Toby. Neither Anne nor anyone in her gang died as a result of their injuries, but they were seriously injured. Anne herself has severe facial scarring and suffers permanent muscle damage from her broken femur, requiring the use of a cane for the rest of her life, as well as limited motion in one arm due to her injured shoulder.</p><p>This story doesn't take place in the main timeline of my sunshine au. But if it did events would turn out more or less the same with how the others become suspicious and discover Jim's troll form. The main difference would be they all develop some level of trauma from these events. Darci, Claire, Mary, and Toby from witnessing people getting mauled by what they believe to be a literal monster; and thinking that it could have easily been them. Jim from having assaulting several individuals under the influence of his troll instincts, and having his subconscious belief that he IS a literal monster reaffirmed.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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